


electric.

by yuzumaki (orphan_account)



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Study, Crybaby Matsuoka Rin, Haru's POV, I Was High When I Wrote This, M/M, Nanase Haruka is a little shit, Soulmates, haru is an asshole i promise he loves rin, haru is so mean to everyone i think i need to readdress that, he doesnt cry that much i just liked that tag, i spent so long figuring out a title pls, im also high while im posting this, im so sorry for that, im such a likeable author!!, imma be honest, like kinda, pls dont expect anything too much, rin and haru can feeeel each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 09:04:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21317635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/yuzumaki
Summary: It’s that same electricity. That damn Matsuoka, always sticking his nose into places he doesn’t belong. There’s no room for him between the water and Haruka. He crouches his body into himself for the flip turn halfway in, and just as he had already predicted, Matsuoka dives in next to him. Now, it’s just Haru and the water, and Matsuoka, and that electric feeling.
Relationships: Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	electric.

_The water is alive_, Haruka thinks.

The surface is calm and inviting. You’d think it has no care, no worries to resolve itself. It lays out such a face that you’d never think it to be harmful. It’s too silent, and much too serene to absolve any kind of speculation that would conclude it as injurious.

You mustn't let that sort of thing sway your judgement in the slightest. The water is a predator, a silent killer bearing fangs and claws, ready to tear apart any kind of gratification you gift to it. You could never imagine such a thing from it’s facade. The second as you dive in, you relinquish all power. If you believe yourself to be too superior, the water will yank you by the ankle and knock you down to a quarter of your size. On the other hand, if you give it too much capability, it will tower over you like a tidal wave. It’s constantly searching for its next prey, for whoever is not ready to trust it. For whoever cannot trust themselves.

After all, once you enter it’s borders, you’re left with only yourself. And perhaps, Haruka thinks, that’s the scariest thing you could be left alone with.

But that’s just what Haru thinks of it, anyway. He’s long given himself up to the water, and he’s long been aware of its consequences. He understands the meditations and the laws. He’s been awarded with the clarity he’s long deserved. What he doesn’t understand, is how he could need anything else.

He just wants to swim. He just wants to feel the water, and have the water accept him back. Besides, he’s sure by now it’s a mutual agreement. He doesn’t doubt himself, and in return, the water doesn’t doubt his accession.

So, when Makoto stands over him, reaching out a hand and telling him just how graceful he looks when he swims, he finds it rather amusing. Makoto isn’t like him at all, he’s long decided. He can’t accept the water. His strokes are too violent, and he wades through it like a battle. Rather than relinquish, Makoto struggles against it. It’s a never-ending war with him, and that feels almost comical to Haru. What could the water feel like to him to force out such a controversy? Haru would never understand.

“You’re like a dolphin,” Makoto says to him, tugging him out of the pool. “There’s no one else who swims like you do.” They’re honest words that Haru doesn’t respond to, and he gives him a genuine smile that Haru doesn’t return. _Makoto could swim like that too_, Haruka thinks, _if he wouldn’t swim like such an idiot._

_How irritating_, Haruka thinks, as he watches the boy in the next lane one over break the surface of the water just a second after him. He pulls ahead of Haru. It’s only by a little, but it’s still extremely irritating nonetheless. Haru doesn’t look over at him, but there’s still an overwhelming presence he feels on his right. _It’s almost electric._ He keeps slightly ahead of Haru until about halfway through his second lap. Haru gets ahead of him then. He must’ve not trusted the water enough.

It’s even more irritating when the boy that was in the next lane one over from him lays down by the starting block, crying with such a strained look that Haru finds it embarrassing to watch. What a loser. Haru’s never cared about dropping times or winning his heat, and frankly, it’s downright cringeworthy to watch someone sobbing in the middle of a venue over something so miniscule.

The person timing congratulates him on his win, and he nods curtly back. He feels the cool water on his arms warm up, and the feeling of electricity simmer down. He’s never cared about beating anyone, so he reflects on what that sudden feeling of electricity could’ve been. It wasn’t the water.

“It’s a little chilly today, huh Haru?” Makoto asks, but he’s not looking for a response. Haru doesn’t give him one. Makoto’s always been like that, his questions are always rhetorical and his words are always far too meddlesome. Makoto’s a pretty easy-going guy, because his smiles are always genuine and his words are always far too honest. Haru wouldn’t be able to stand him if he was anymore difficult.

But, Haru still finds it troubling how intrusive Makoto can be. His questions are always rhetorical, yet Haru can’t help but feel that he wants an answer anyway. That, in itself, is difficult, but it’s nothing Haru hasn’t learned to cope with. Because, Haru never gives him an answer, and even so, Makoto still smiles genuinely.

The pathway to school feels slightly different this morning. The wind is a bit stronger and the grass slightly glistens with the morning’s dew._ It is chilly_, Haruka thinks. But that’s not all, there’s a sense of uncertainty in the air that throws Haru off a little more than it should. He assumes that he’d probably have been better off feigning sick and staying home.

He’s positive about that when he walks into class and sees the teacher write Matsuoka Rin on the chalkboard.

“You guys are from Iwatobi, aren’t you?” What a stupid, rhetorical question. It’s the same boy from the lane next to him. His hair is a bothersome red, he’s got the word Shark written on the towel draped over his shoulders, and he’s smiling like an idiot as if he hadn’t been blubbering moronically just half an hour ago. God, he really is irritating. “You guys are crazy fast! I can’t believe you’re both elementary schoolers!”

Makoto smiles back at him kindly, “Hey, you’re Mastuoka from the Sano club, right?” And Haru’s surprised that Makoto knows him and still manages to smile at him. He can’t imagine that Matsuoka has many friends, being as frustrating as he is. “Woah! I didn’t know you both knew me!”

_We don’t_, Haru wants to say, but he doesn’t want to speak to him. “Tachibana, you won the hundred meter breaststroke and Nanase won the hundred meter freestyle! You must be pretty proud of yourselves, huh?” _I don’t care_, Haru wants to say, but he keeps his peace.

“Y’know, they’re only doing long course right now, but I’m certain that if they had any short course races, I would’ve been able to win my heat. Hell, I’d probably take first, too!” And Haru knows he’s right. Haru didn’t even end up passing him until about seventy-meters in. He still doesn’t understand why that irritates him so much.

Makoto laughs, “Yeah, your start was something, that’s for sure. If it was short course, you probably would’ve beat us both.” What business does Makoto have being so equitable to everything? Makoto would be better off giving Matsuoka no room to speak. By responding, he’s only giving him more reason to keep talking.

“I guess I just have to work on my stamina--” “I don’t think it’s just your poor stamina thats the problem.” It even surprised Haru that he had broken his silence. He’s glad he did it anyway, because it shuts the kid up pretty fast.

He finds out it doesn’t shut him up for long though, because he starts talking again in a few seconds. “Well, don’t think I’ll be losing to you next time!” Jeez, it’s like he just says whatever he wants to._ It’d be nicer for everyone if he just never said anything again_, Haruka decides. “Let’s swim again, okay?” He finishes, giving a small wave goodbye and prancing off to his teammates. Haru can’t imagine they like him very much.

Makoto and him sit in the wafting stillness Matsuoka left them in, but Haru is still agitated enough afterwards. “I guess we’ll have to do our best not to lose,” Makoto says smally. Haru can’t believe Makoto is dumb enough to not realize that Matsuoka was never talking to him in the first place. He acted like he was talking to the both of them, but all of his words were directed towards Haruka.

“My name is Matsuoka Rin. It’s a girly name, but I’m a boy!” It’s not just the name and the hair that gives him away, Haru can recognize that blockhead, dingbat smile anywhere. He slumps into his seat and laments on his terrible luck. “I just transferred here from Sano Elementary school.” He bows rationally, and gives the mandatory ‘I hope we get along well’ before directly making eye contact with Haru. He’ll probably lose his mind if this Matsuoka kid thinks that they’re friends now.

“I know it’s a bit strange to have a new student transfer so late in the year, but please do your best to welcome him,” The teacher says, and Matsuoka ushers straight off into Haru’s direction. He’s sure that the glare he’s giving off isn’t pretty, but it doesn’t seem to faze Matsuoka one bit.

Haru’s glad for once that Makoto speaks up, because Matsuoka quickly tears his gaze from Haru, “Hey! Um, you’re the kid from the swim meet a few months ago. You talked to me and Haru for a bit?”

His red eyes light up in a way that disturbs Haru to his very core, and his grin brightens, “Tachibana! We’re in the same class! What a crazy coincidence, huh? And same with Nanase!” It’s not a coincidence at all. He doesn’t know why, or how Matsuoka managed to end up here in front of him, but he’s sure that the kid must’ve pulled a few strings. Irritating, irritating, irritating.

“Woahhh, you guys have a cherry blossom tree? Talk about cool,” Matsuoka says. Makoto is so, so moronic. Why would he offer to show him around? Why would he spend any time with this kid, when he could just ignore his existence and be treated with the fact of never having to be around him? “And it’s right next to the pool too! I bet in the spring, all the petals will fall into the water.” The kid says, placing one of his hands on the trunk.

“Swimming in a pool of cherry blossoms… I’d love to be able to do something like that.” Matsuoka smiles, but this time, it’s only to himself. It’s an open ended statement, and for once Makoto doesn’t seem to have a response. And it’s not like Haru’s gonna say anything. That wafting stillness is back.

There’s a sense of loneliness in the stillness that Haru hadn’t recognized before. If he didn’t know any better, he’d be getting as far away as possible from that kind of awkward stance. “So, what made you transfer here so late in the year?” Makoto asks, meddlesome as ever, and Haru wants to kick himself. The awkwardness of the silence is way better than the awkwardness of letting Matsuoka talk.

He’s gonna lie again, Haru can already feel it, “Totally a coincidence!” Matsuoka laughs stiffly, “We just happened to move here and all… Some kind of fluke.” There’s a flash in his eyes, and his whole tone of voice changes. “I guess you could call it fate?”

Just then, there was a blast of wind taking through the air like a bullet. It’s that same air from the morning. That uncertain air that Haru can’t seem to fathom, the kind that’s rocking his body from head to toe without any care for whatever it blows down. How selfish.

“Let’s get inside,” Makoto announces quickly, and Matsuoka tails him back inside. Haru stays behind for just a second, because that gust of wind still has him shaken up. There’s no explanation for why it had to blow at that exact second, and with that amount of presence. He absolutely hates things like that.

“My name is Matsuoka Rin! It’s a girly name, but I’m a boy!” Of course, he’s here on the same swim team now, Haru can’t imagine why he’d be wishful enough to hope he wouldn’t be. “I just transferred here from the Sano swim club.” He bows rationally, and gives the mandatory ‘I hope we get along well’ and then stares at Haru just like he did in the classroom.

The team welcomes him nicely, which Haru still can’t seem to discern why they would, and Matsuoka once again shelters off to where Makoto and Haru stand. “Man, these coincidences just keep piling up, don’t they?” And Haru can’t see how he can make himself any more obvious. “Hope we can get along here, too, right Tachibana?” He addresses Makoto, but once again, he can’t help but feel he’s only saying it for Haru to hear.

_Whatever_, Haruka thinks, because as soon as he can dive into the water, he can’t be bothered by Matsuoka’s stupid schticks and obvious lies. Once he’s swimming, he’ll be cleansed of such annoyances. And, so swim he does.

Matsuoka ends up being pulled away by Nagisa, who’s around a year younger than the three of them, and much more meddlesome and time-consuming than Makoto could ever dream to be. Haru’s glad knowing that Matsuoka probably won’t be able to pull away from him very easily, considering that.

It’s him and the water now. The water and Haru, which might he add, is an excellent team. Here, he knows, rids of him of any slight existence of Matsuoka or Makoto. Here, he’s left with only himself. He trusts the water, and therefore he trusts himself. That’s why they get along so well. He doesn’t need to worry about times and winning, because as long as he gets to feel the water, it’s enough for him.

“Nice work, Haru!” Makoto tells him when he finishes the first set, “Get up here, I wanna ask you something.” Haru grabs onto Makoto’s outstretched hand, as he always does that, and climbs up onto the deck.

“Coach asked for your hundred-meter time, he wants me to time you,” He says once Haru is next to him. “And before you go on about how you don’t care about times, I’m only gonna show it to Coach, okay?” Whatever, if Coach wants to know, he has a right to know. “Sure, just don’t go off telling everyone,” Haru responds, and by everyone, he means Matsuoka. He gets on top of the starting block and gets ready to dive.

And then, right as he dives in-- how the hell did Matsuoka get away from Nagisa?

He tries to shake away that discomfort in his mind and relinquishes himself to the water, already sensing that Matsuoka’s gonna try racing Haru once he closes in on fifty-meters. How infuriating can this kid get…

He makes his way to the end of the pool length, turns, and starts making his way back. He can feel Matsuoka’s eyes bore into him, watching his arms and his kicks, and he can feel the sheer adrenaline pump through his veins. It’s that same electricity. That damn Matsuoka, always sticking his nose into places he doesn’t belong. There’s no room for him between the water and Haruka.

He crouches his body into himself for the flip turn halfway in, and just as he had already predicted, Matsuoka dives in next to him. Now, it’s just Haru, and the water, and Matsuoka, and that electric feeling.

Haru chases that electricity, feeling that same need of competition that he had so confidently praised himself to not have. Matsuoka cuts him no slack, and before they even manage to reach the other side of the pool again, he’d caught up to him. The swim isn’t with serenity and ease, it’s bloated with excitement and speed, and Haru still doesn’t understand why. They flip turn, now at the exact same time, and Haru pushes himself off the wall with so much force that Haru is surprised he didn’t leave a dent.

_I’ve caught up with you Nanase!_ He can hear Matsuoka tell him with such lucidity that it’s frightening._ Show me what you can really do._

Might as well give him what he wants, Haruka decides, and pushes himself. He can feel Matsuoka, and that ball of energy pulsing right beyond the lane line. He’s got amazing drive, but Haru refuses to let himself be beat.

But why? He still has never cared about winning against anyone, yet he can’t help himself to indulge in the passion that Matsuoka offers him. It’s new and exhilarating, and Haru grabs hold of it without a second thought, as if there’s no rhyme or reason. As if it’s compulsory. As if, even if he wanted to ignore it, he’d never be able to.

He hits the wall. Without waiting any longer, Haru yanks himself out of the pool and reaches for Makoto’s timer. “Well, Tachibana!” Matsuoka says breathlessly, beaming wildly. “What’s the time, huh? Who won? What did he get for the hundred meter--” Haru grabs the timer and resets it before anyone can get a good look. He tosses the timer back so half-hazardly, Makoto has to juggle it in between his hands before he’s able to get a good grasp on it again.

“It got reset…” Makoto answers sheepishly, and Matsuoka goes red before sinking down into the water. Nagisa chases off towards Haru, whining about how cool you are! and how can you swim like that!

And Haru doesn’t know how he could swim like that either.

The teacher finishes the list with ‘origami’, which Haru thinks is a nice enough idea. It’s easy, and not too overwhelming. “If anyone has any more suggestions for our graduation project, speak now,” she says, turning back towards the classroom. Haru can’t imagine that they could really do anything else, he doesn’t really see their graduation as anything that special anyway. Matsuoka, one the other hand, had mentioned sending a satellite into space, which Haru thought was possibly the most idiotic thing he’d ever heard in his whole life.

But still, one girl raises her hand, “I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while,” she starts, “I mean, the only flowers we have is the cherry blossom tree.” _That’s true_, Haruka thinks, but he likes it that way. The tree has such a strong demeanor, it’s as if any other flower or grass avoid it at all costs. It’s not like the tree is lonely or anything, though.

That’s exactly what she says though, “I think we should plant a bed of flowers near the tree, so that they can all bloom during graduation!” And something cracks in Haru.

_Why?_ He thinks to himself. _Why can’t they just let it be alone?_ Everyone seems so have such a disdain for loneliness, but Haru can’t help but find peace within such a thing. The tree doesn’t need to have a bunch of flowers blooming underneath it, and it’s perfectly plausible to just leave it the hell alone.

“I agree!” Makoto pipes up, and Haru feels something deeper in himself break apart. _Just leave it alone_. “I think that’s a great idea! We can all plant different flowers so that the tree won’t be lonely!” _It’s fine just the way it is, if you don’t meddle your way into its path and decide what’s good for it._

Haru snaps his head to the side for no given reason other than he can feel Matsuoka stare at him. He doesn’t need him. He doesn’t need this. Matsuoka should just leave him alone, and when he’s staring at him with such a blatant expression, it makes Haru want to get up and punch the look right off his face.

“Haru, are you okay?” Makoto asks him a few minutes later. “Your face is all red.” And now it’s Haru’s turn to feel dumb. Did Matsuoka just strike a chord with him? “I’m fine,” He gestures properly, but he can feel how warm his body is getting. Maybe he has a fever or something, but he’s not gonna dwell on that. If only he could run to the water right now.

“Man, Makoto, aren’t you a romantic?” Matsuoka strides over to them, always fitting himself into the conversations no one involved him in. “I have to admit, I kind of like the idea of that tree just being by itself, though. It’s pretty enough that way.” Why the hell does Matsuoka feel the need to eye him as he says that? This shouldn’t have anything to do with him.

“Call me a romantic! You wanted to send a satellite into space! Don’t you think that’s way more romantic sounding?” Makoto blurts out, embarrassed. Matsuoka scratches the back of his head, laughing quietly. “Anyways, I bet Nanase probably liked the origami idea. Something simple like that, right?”

How the hell did he know that?

“Yo, Nanase!” Matsuoka calls out to him and Haru gets out of the pool. “Coach wants to do a relay practice!” There’s an overriding amount of joy in Matsuoka’s aspect when he says that. Specifically, when he mentions a relay. Something like that must be important to him, Haru concludes. He can hear Nagisa behind him, “Relay? With Matsuoka and Nanase? You’ll be unbeatable!”

“So what? I don’t do relays. I only swim free.” Matsuoka’s eyes light up even more, and his smile widens. “That’s the thing,” He starts, putting his hands on his hips, which Haru thinks makes him look like a dumbass, “It’s a freestyle relay!” He doesn’t get it, Haru believes. It’s not about the stroke being freestyle, it’s the fact that he doesn’t want to share the water with anyone. He becomes free in the water, and he can’t become that if he has to be caged in by teammates.

“Now listen up,” Coach interrupts, “The dive is the most important! There’s gonna be four dives between the race, and thats when you’ll lose the most time. Make sure you dive as soon as your teammate touches the wall, and don’t underestimate the strength of your kick, got that?”

Of course, Haru isn’t going to listen to any of that. Once Coach calls it, Haru dives into the pool without worry. He can’t ignore the strain of not feeling as free as possible, though. He tries to ignore that strain, and tries to feel the water. Once he’s in the water, he’s alone with himself anyway. But, as he makes his way to the finish, there’s a loud snap in his head that nearly makes him stop swimming altogether. What was that? It was clear, as if it had happened right next to him, the sound of rubber slapping against rubber. He swims anyway, but he doesn’t feel alone in the water anymore.

Haru pulls toward the wall and touches it, looking up to watch Matsuoka dive over him.

It’s like time nearly stopped. Matsuoka stretches out his body while grinning widely, his arms are tightly pinned against his head in a streamline, and his figure is elongated amazingly. He’s like a bird soaring against the wind, passing above Haruka’s head like a predator, and it makes his chest clench and tighten so much he can’t feel any air passing through his lungs. All he can focus on is Matsuoka, and the way he seems to fly through the air with the same type of comfort Haru swims with. He cuts into the water like a beast, and the water splashes up at the point he hits.

Haru, removing himself from that trance, faces away from Matsuoka as quickly as possible. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought they met eyes when he saw that dumb smile.

“Rin’s got an amazing kick, y’know,” Coach tells him when Haru gets out of the water. “They way he turns off the wall really gives him an advantage.” God, how irritating. “He’s probably got you beat easily on the short course just because of that. Doesn’t that annoy you?” Yes. I don’t know why. “Not really. Winning doesn’t matter. Besides, plenty of people swim faster than me.”

But he shouldn’t be one of them.

Haru kneads the clay between his palms. “These are for the bricks we’ll use on the flower bed, so try and make them as rectangular as possible,” The teacher tells them, and Haru does what he’s told. Makoto, Matsuoka, and him sit in a circle with one another, while the other two have some conversation that Haru doesn’t bother paying attention to. Knowing how nosy they both can be, they’re probably just throwing rhetorical questions back and forth, or whatever nosy, annoying people like that do.

It doesn’t take long for Matsuoka to add him in on the conversation though, because he seems to have a knack for talking to Haru when he really doesn’t want to. “So, I was thinking… How the tournament’s coming up and all, how would you like to enter in a medley relay with me, Nanase?” There’s that relay word again. “I’ve already told you, I only swim free.”

“Yeah, yeah, you sure are a picky one, Nanase. Look, you can swim the freestyle leg if you really want to,” Matsuoka laughs it off. He still doesn’t understand. “I can swim butterfly if you need me too, and Tachibana, you’re already really good at breaststroke! So all we need is a good backstroker, and I’m sure we can win it!”

“Stop going on about the relay!” Haru chokes out, placing his palms flatly into the clay. “I’m sitting here telling you I only swim free, so don’t include me in it!” Matsuoka pauses, and his signature smile drops off his face. “I’m sitting here telling you… Just what I’ve been saying… You--” And without warning, Matsuoka’s face goes bright red, and he’s just as angry as Haru.

“Geez! You can do freestyle! How many times do I have to say that!” It’s the first time he’s seen Matsuoka angry about anything. Up until now, he’s only ever been smiling or crying. Haru’s fists grind deeper into the clay, and he can feel it go into his fingernails uncomfortably, but he can’t find a reason to care. He can feel his body getting warm again, like the blood in his body is heating at an alarming rate. Right now, he’s sure he’s just as red as Matsuoka.

They’re so focused on one another that they barely recognize the commotion that just came out of them. It’s Matsuoka that snaps out of it first, looking around at the class of students awkwardly staring at the group of them. He shakes his head and stands up. “Hey, uh, listen!” Matsuoka announces, clumsily trying to take the attention off the argument that just surfaced. “I was thinking… Uh… What if we wrote things on the bricks! Whatever we want, freely!”

Haru thinks it’s the most obvious scapegoat he’s ever seen, but the rest of the class latches onto it like fish to bait. “That’s an amazing idea, Rin!” The teacher tells him, clapping her hands together. And Matsuoka giggles it off and sits back down. And just like that, that moment of passion came and gone. But still, how strange it was that Haru and Rin got angry and red at the same time? They just sat there, staring at each other, like an unresolved tension was connecting the two of them, wounding between them so tightly that Haru doesn’t know if even the water could help forget that.

Did Rin feel that too?


End file.
